"How I Build Aircraft Dioramas"

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

The black fittings you see here are made from brass and then blackened.A better choice would have been aluminum painted black, as it is a whole lot easier to work with when designing the fittings ,especially when shaping and drilling when they are already attached to the tail booms.

Here I am checking that the vertical struts will be at right angles when level.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I replaced all the brass fittings with aluminum which is much easier to work with.The vertical struts themselves I left brass.The black nails join the strut tubing and fitting together and the small copper photo etch parts are leftovers from another build. (the turnbuckles will be attached later).The nail heads can later be cut flush and a drop of superthin superglue applied and the whole thing sanded smooth and painted.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

That is a miniature clothes peg.

This is the basic elevator assembly.The leading edge was grooved to accept the tube at the trailing edge of the horiz stab.The peg will be replaced with hinges and ribs made like what is on the stabilizer.

I have added cross members to the wings using the lightening holes that are already there.Curtiss used small blocks at all 90 deg intersections but his wing ribs were solid.I think that this is a better solution for my backyard flier and gives the wing a much stronger look.Little blocks would never be seen anyway at scale distance.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I wasn't sure about adding this tube to the tail assembly.The drawing seems to show it but most pictures I have seen do not.

This is a judgment call and seeing that this is my version of a backyard flyer I added it.It will greatly add to the stability of the whole tail assembly which now will be removable by loosening just four pins.

Now it is on to the rudder assembly.

[John W Reid]

[JP Vieira]

Amazing work

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I heard from the CAM yesterday and their renovations are to be finished in about a year from now. I probably have another year or so just to finish the Backyard Flyer so I will drop it for now and complete the Albatros,Neiuport and Jenny dioramas first.

The Neiuport is about 99% finished ,the Jenny about 90% and Albatros about the same except I have recently (today) added more to it.

A modeling bud of mine kindly gave me another Albatros that he was working on himself but has too many things on the go right now.I got it as a surprise Chistmas present and as you will see I am putting it to good use.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

Now this should be lots of fun! I always wanted to do a junkyard.The question is though ,because it is a military airfield ,I don't think that junk would be allowed to lay around too long and that limits the amount of weathering I can do.Worn but not too rusty.No evidence of fire this time but an accident case just like the other.

This is a German aircrew training field and accidents were all too common in those days.I am dedicating this diorama to all the pilots and their instructors who never even made it to the front lines ,both German and Allied.

[John W Reid]

I visited a couple of local hobby stores yesterday and to my surprise I saw something amazing.Ten years ago, except for the amour guys ,hardly anyone knew about dioramas or even what they were.Not only most modelers but the arts community too!

Things are finally changing,they now have craft materials for kids, even under ten years old' labeled as "diorama kits".I am not just talking about the modeling section of the stores but in the childrens craft section as well.Sure,I know that this kind of craft thing has been around for a long time but I never have seen a kit designed especially for kids and labeled a diorama.

So what is the big deal?Well maybe sometime in the future makers of dioramas will not have to explain to 9 out of 10 people that they meet what kind of art they do.

[John W Reid]

The Model Elephant In The Room

When visiting my local hobby store the other day,I overheard a conversation that seems to be all too familiar these days.A local RR modeler had recently passed away and word finally reached the store about two weeks later.He was a regular visitor and buyer who had spent a good portion of his lifetime building a model RR layout.The store owner called the widow to express his condolences and mentioned to her something about helping her find a good home for his labor of love.She informed him that she had already thrown a lot of his stuff in the garbage and the rest her brother would sell on e-bay.

I hear about things like this all too often.For those who aren't familiar with the modern RR layouts,I can only describe the best of them as 3D works of art.Moving trains in a static setting never much appealed to me personally but when looked at as dioramas ,they are some of the best work I have seen.A lot of these RR types developed their artistic skills over time working on their huge layouts over many years.Their initial interest may have been in the moving train, which was the hook for their interest, but many of these guys became diorama artists in their own right.To see a lot of this stuff go in the garbage has always saddened me.

I wonder if some more thought was given to smaller layouts made in sections and not huge layouts that are difficult move and store, would it make better sense ? I don't know what kind of relationship the modeler in question had with his wife,maybe she considered it junk,I don't know but I am sure that there are families out there that would love to be able to keep some of uncle Joe's or grandpa Fred's stuff for future generations to admire.Whether we realize it or not we are living,in what I believe, is the golden age of modeling ,as we know it.Modelers should think about this because someday this stuff will be rare.If just a little thought were given to this during the construction of layouts then areas of the layout could be made into dioramas.I know a lot of you guys will say "who cares, I'll be dead" but a lot of craftsmen /artists I know, do care whether secretly or not.

You could plan for this by making your favorite areas of the layout into little dioramas of their own but with only a temporary role in the bigger layout.

You could have nice display cases made for your best work to be put into upon your move to a smaller home or after your departure for the "happy hunting ground." You could even take the route I did and approach museums with a gift of your work ,so that kids and the young at heart can enjoy it for many years to come.Cheers! John.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I think that this will be the basic composition that I will go with.The tipped wheelbarrow adds to the storyline by confirming that the junk pile is there only temporarily.It will now have to be glued and pinned down piece by piece.

A little more subtle weathering is now required.